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<h1>Compare and Contrast</h1>

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<ol>
<li><a href="#part1">Various uses of 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 and 「よる」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2">Using 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 for comparisons</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3">Using 「より」 for comparisons</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4">Using 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 to express a way to do something</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5">Using 「によって」 to express dependency</a></li>
<li><a href="#part6">Indicating a source of information using 「によると」</a></li>
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<h2 id="part1">Various uses of 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 and 「よる」</h2>
If you were wondering how to make comparison in Japanese, well wonder no more.  We will learn how to use 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 and 「より」 to make
comparisons between two things.  We will also learn other uses of 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 and 「よる」 along the way.

<h2 id="part2">Using 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 for comparisons</h2>
The noun 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 is read as 「ほう」 when it is used to mean a direction or orientation.
It can also be read as 「かた」 when it is used as a politer version of 「<span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>」.  But
that's neither here nor there.  When we use 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 to mean
direction, we can use it for comparison by saying one way of things is better, worse, etc., than the other way.
Grammatically, it works just like any other regular nouns.

<h3>Examples</h3>
Use it with nouns by utilizing the 「の」 particle.
<br />（１）　<span title="ごはん - cooked rice; meal" class="popup">ご飯</span><em>の<span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span></em>が<span title="おいしい - tasty" class="popup">おいしい</span>。- Rice is tastier. (lit: The way of rice is tasty.)
<br />（２）　<span title="すずき - Suzuki" class="popup">鈴木</span><span title="さん - polite name suffix" class="popup">さん</span><em>の<span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span></em>が<span title="わかい - young" class="popup">若い</span>。- Suzuki-san is younger. (lit: The way of Suzuki is young.)

<p>Grammatically, it's no different from a regular noun.
<br />（３）　<em><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>じゃない</em><span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>よ。- It's better to not be a student. (lit: The way of not being student is good.)
<br />（４）　<span title="あかちゃん - baby" class="popup">赤ちゃん</span>は、<em><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span>な</em><span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が<span title="すき - desirable" class="popup">好き</span>。- Like quiet babies more. (lit: About babies, the quiet way is desirable.)
</p>

<p>The tricky part of making comparisons with verb is the use of tenses.  For absolutely no reason, non-negative verbs must always be
past tense.
<br />（５）　<span title="ゆっくり - slowly" class="popup">ゆっくり</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span></em><span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が<span title="けんこう - health" class="popup">健康</span>に<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>よ。- It's better for your health to eat slowly.
<br />（６）　<span title="こちら - this way" class="popup">こちら</span>から<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span></em><span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が<span title="はやい - fast; early" class="popup">早かった</span>。- It was faster to go from this way.
</p>

<p>
The same thing does <u>not</u> apply for negative verbs.
<br />（７）　<span title="マトリックス・レボリューション - Matrix Revolution" class="popup">マトリックス・レボリューション</span>を<em><span title="みる - to watch" class="popup">観ない</span></em><span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>よ。- It's better not to watch "Matrix Revolution".
</p>

<p>The negative verb is only in the past tense when the comparison is of something that happened in the past.
<br />（８）　<span title="そんな - like that" class="popup">そんな</span>に<em><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲まなかった</span></em><span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が<em><span title="いい - good" class="popup">よかった</span></em>。- It was better not to have drunk that much.
</p>

<h2 id="part3">Using 「より」 for comparisons</h2>
You can think of 「より」 as being the opposite of 「<span title="ほう - direction, side">方</span>」.  It means, "rather than" or "as opposed to".  It attaches directly to the back of any word.
It is usually used in conjunction with 「<span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>」 to say something like, "This way is better as opposed to that way."

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<span title="はな - flower" class="popup">花</span>より<span title="だんご - rice dumpling" class="popup">団子</span>。
<br />- Dango rather than flowers.  (This is a very famous proverb.)

<p>
（２）　<span title="ごはん - cooked rice; meal" class="popup">ご飯</span>の<span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が、<em><span title="パン - bread" class="popup">パン</span>より</em><span title="おいしい - tasty" class="popup">おいしい</span>。
<br />- Rice tastes better than bread. (lit: The rice way is tasty as opposed to bread.)
</p>

<p>
（３）　<em><span title="キム - Kim" class="popup">キム</span><span title="さん - polite name suffix" class="popup">さん</span>より</em><span title="すずき - Suzuki" class="popup">鈴木</span><span title="さん - polite name suffix" class="popup">さん</span>の<span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が<span title="わかい - young" class="popup">若い</span>。
<br />- Suzuki-san is younger than Kim-san.  (lit: The way of Suzuki is young as opposed to Kim-san.)
</p>

<p>For those curious about the meaning of the proverb, dango is a sweet doughy treat usually sold at festivals.  The proverb is saying that
people prefer this treat to watching the flowers, referring to the 「<span title="はなみ - cherry-blossom viewing" class="popup">花見</span>」 event where people go out to see the cherry blossoms (and get smashed).
The deeper meaning of the proverb, like all good proverbs, depends on how you apply it.
</p>

<p>Of course, there is no rule that 「より」 must be used with 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」. The other way of things can be gleaned from context.
<br />（<span title="すずき - Suzuki" class="popup">鈴木</span>）　<span title="まいにち - every day" class="popup">毎日</span><span title="しごと - work" class="popup">仕事</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>のが<span title="いや - disagreeable, unpleasant" class="popup">嫌</span>だ。- I don't like going to work everyday.
<br />（スミス）　<span title="しごと - work" class="popup">仕事</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span><em>より</em><span title="まし - not as bad" class="popup">まし</span>だよ。- It's not as bad as opposed to not having a job.
</p>

<p>Words associated with 「より」 do not need any tense.  Notice in the following sentence that 「<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span>」 in front of 「より」 is present tense even
though 「<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span>」 in front of 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 is past tense.
<br />（１）　<span title="ゆっくり - slowly" class="popup">ゆっくり</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span></em><span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が<span title="はやい - fast; early" class="popup">早く</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span></em>より<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>。- It is better to eat slowly as opposed to eating quickly.
</p>


<h3>Using 「より」 as a superlative</h3>
You can also use 「より」 with question words such as 「<span title="だれ - who" class="popup">誰</span>」、「<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>」、or
「<span title="どこ - where" class="popup">どこ</span>」 to make a superlative by comparing with everything or everybody else. In this case, though not required, it
is common to include the 「も」 particle.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="しょうひん - product" class="popup">商品</span>の<span title="ひんしつ - quality of a good" class="popup">品質</span>を<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>より<span title="たいせつ - important" class="popup">大切</span>に<span title="する - to do" class="popup">しています</span>。
<br />- We place value in product's quality over anything else.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="しごと - work" class="popup">仕事</span>は<span title="だれ - who" class="popup">誰</span>よりも<span title="はやい - fast; early" class="popup">早く</span><span title="できる - to be able to do" class="popup">できます</span>。
<br />- Can do this job more quickly than anyone else.
</p>

<h2 id="part4">Using 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 to express a way to do something</h2>
You can also attach 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 to the stem of verbs to express a way to do that verb.  In this usage, 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 is read as 「かた」 and the result becomes a
noun.  For example, 「<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行き</span><span title="かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」（いきかた） means, "the way to go" or 「<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span><span title="かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」（たべかた）means, "the way to eat".  This expression is probably what you want to use
when you want to ask how to do something.

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　<span title="しんじゅく - Shinjuku" class="popup">新宿</span>の<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行き</span><span title="かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span></em>は<span title="わかる - to know; to understand" class="popup">分かります</span>か。
<br />- Do you know the way to go to Shinjuku?
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="そういう - that type of" class="popup">そういう</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span><span title="かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span></em>は<span title="からだ - body" class="popup">体</span>に<span title="いい - good" class="popup">よくない</span>よ。
<br />- Eating in that way is not good for your body.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="かんじ - Kanji" class="popup">漢字</span>の<em><span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書き</span><span title="かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span></em>を<span title="おしえる - to teach" class="popup">教えて</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれます</span>か？
<br />- Can you teach me the way of writing kanji?
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="パソコン - personal computer" class="popup">パソコン</span>の<em><span title="つかう - to use" class="popup">使い</span><span title="かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span></em>は、<span title="みんな - everybody" class="popup">みんな</span><span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知っている</span>でしょう。
<br />- Probably everybody knows the way to use PC's.
</p>

<p>When verbs are transformed to this form, the result becomes a noun clause. Sometimes, this requires a change of particles. For instance, while 「<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>」 usually
involves a target (the 「に」 or 「へ」 particle), since
「<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行き</span><span title="かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 is a noun clause,
（１） becomes 「<span title="しんじゅく - Shinjuku" class="popup">新宿</span><em>の</em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行き</span><span title="かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」
instead of the familiar 「<span title="しんじゅく - Shinjuku" class="popup">新宿</span><em>に</em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>」.
</p>

<h2 id="part5">Using 「によって」 to express dependency</h2>
When you want to say, "depending on [X]", you can do this in Japanese by simply attaching 「によって」 to [X].

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　<em><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>によって</em><span title="はなし - story" class="popup">話</span>が<span title="ちがう - to differ" class="popup">違う</span>。
<br />- The story is different depending on the person.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<em><span title="きせつ - season" class="popup">季節</span>によって</em><span title="くだもの - fruit" class="popup">果物</span>は<span title="おいしい - tasty" class="popup">おいしく</span><span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なったり</span>、<span title="まずい - unpleasant" class="popup">まずく</span><span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なったり</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>。
<br />- Fruit becomes tasty or nasty depending on the season.
</p>

<p>This is simply the <a href="compound.html#part3">te-form</a> of 「よる」 as seen by the following simple exchange.
<br />（<span title="かずこ - Kazuko" class="popup">和子</span>）　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は<span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲み</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行こう</span>か？- Shall we go drinking today?
<br />（<span title="だいき - Daiki" class="popup">大樹</span>）　<span title="それ - that" class="popup">それ</span>は、<span title="ゆうこ - Yuuko" class="popup">裕子</span>に<em>よる</em>ね。- That depends on Yuuko.
</p>

<h2 id="part6">Indicating a source of information using 「によると」</h2>
Another expression using 「よる」 is by using it with the target and the <a href="conditional.html#part2">decided conditional</a> 「と」 to indicate a source of information.  In English, this would
translate to "according to [X]" where 「によると」 is attached to [X].

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<em><span title="てんき - weather" class="popup">天気</span><span title="よほう - forecast" class="popup">予報</span>によると</em>、<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は<span title="あめ - rain" class="popup">雨</span>だそうだ。
<br />- According to the weather forecast, I hear today is rain.
</p>

<p>（２）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>の<em><span title="はなし - story" class="popup">話</span>によると</em>、<span title="ともこ - Tomoko" class="popup">朋子</span>は<span title="やっと - at last" class="popup">やっと</span><span title="ボーイフレンド - boyfriend" class="popup">ボーイフレンド</span>を<span title="みつける - to find" class="popup">見つけた</span>らしい。
<br />- According to a friend's story, it appears that Tomoko finally found a boyfriend.
</p>

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